IDW is Back to Kill Shakespeare

IDW Publishing announced the return of Kill Shakespeare with the release of Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood. The new five-issue run, with the original creative team of co-writers Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col and artist Andy Belanger is out next week, February 20th.

Called “gripping, violent and dark fun,” by The New York Times, the original 12-issue series was nominated for a Harvey Award for Best New Series and Joe Shuster Awards for Best Comic Writing. In the new adventure Shakespeare’s greatest heroes (Hamlet, Juliet, Romeo, Othello, Miranda) embark on a journey to a forbidden island to save the world from the deranged “master of books”, Prospero. The island is filled with cannibals, magic and madness – as well as ghosts from the pasts of many characters.

“It’s a dream come true to continue to tell stories in the Kill Shakespeare universe,” said McCreery. “We have such a vast and deep sandbox of characters to play with from Shakespeare and our fans constantly let us know which ones they want to see next. The entire fan response has been overwhelming.”

The series has built a strong following not only in the comic book community but also academia (where numerous scholars have analyzed the creators’ take on Shakespeare) and the theatre world. Shortly after the release of THE TIDE OF BLOOD #1, Chicago’s Strawdog Theatre will be mounting the first multi-week run of Kill Shakespeare: The Live Graphic Novel from March 4-24th, 2013. The show, which combines images from the comic series with live acting, music and sound effects, was produced by a number of theatre companies in 2012 and named the top theatrical experience of the year in Halifax by The Coast.

“I had an awesome time working on the first two volumes of Kill Shakespeare,” said series editor Tom Waltz. “Tickling both my literary and action-adventure fancies, Conor, Anthony, and Andy have most definitely given me one of the most satisfying and unique experiences I’ve had as an editor at IDW Publishing. And, just as the first go-round proved it’s hard to kill Shakespeare, well, it’s hard to kill a fantastic story concept, too, and I truly believe the best is yet to come from the Kill Shakespeare crew!”